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We are committed to protecting the privacy of all visitors to our website, Metrohealth.org, MetroHealth MyChart, related websites and mobile applications under MetroHealth’s control (collectively, the “Site”).
We wrote this Privacy Notice (“Notice”) to help you understand what information we collect, how we use and protect it, and your choices. The MetroHealth System is referred to in this Notice as “MetroHealth,” “we,” “us” or “our.”
Revised March 2021
Information you give us
We collect and store information you provide directly to us, such as when you create or modify your account or user preferences, sign up for a newsletter, contact us, respond to a survey, or otherwise communicate with us. This includes information you submit on forms, such as appointment request forms. Some forms collect sensitive information, such as health information, necessary for us to provide services to you. This information may include your name, email address, phone number, postal address, insurance information, personal health information (which, to the extent it is considered Protected Health Information under HIPAA, shall be subject to the MetroHealth Notice of Privacy Practices) survey responses, user content stored or entered into the forms found in our online platforms, and other information you choose to provide through use of our online platforms.
Information we collect automatically
When you interact with our Site, certain information about your use of our Site is automatically collected. This information includes computer and connection information, such as statistics on your page views, traffic to and from our Site, referral Universal Resource Locators (URL), ad data, your Internet Protocol (IP) address, and device identifiers. This information also may include your transaction history, and your web log information, how you search our Site, the websites you click on from our Site or emails, whether and when you open our emails, and your browsing activities across other websites.
Much of this information may be collected through cookies, web beacons and other tracking technologies, as well as through your web browser or device.
How we use the information we collect
The information you provide to us will be used to:
We will not use your information for any purposes other than as described in this Notice or explained to you at the point at which the information was collected.
Email communications, newsletters and related services
MetroHealth communicates with you through newsletters, mailings, email, or other means about treatment options, health-related information, disease management programs, wellness programs or other community-based activities in which MetroHealth participates.
Email communications that you send to us via the email links on our Site may be shared with a customer service representative, employee, medical expert or agent that is most able to address your inquiry. We make every effort to respond in a timely fashion once communications are received. Once we have responded to your communication, it is discarded or archived, depending on the nature of the inquiry.
The email functionality on our Site does not provide a completely secure and confidential means of communication. It's possible that your email communication may be accessed or viewed by another Internet user while in transit to us. If you wish to keep your communication private, do not use our email.
Surveys
We occasionally survey visitors to our Site. The information from these surveys is used in aggregated, de-identified form to help us understand the needs of our visitors so that we can improve our Site. The information may be shared with third parties with whom we have a business relationship. We generally do not ask for information in surveys that would personally identify you; if we do request contact information for follow-up, you may decline to provide it. If survey respondents provide personal information (such as an email address) in a survey, it is shared only with those people who need to see it to respond to the question or request, or with third parties who perform data management services for our Site. Those third parties have agreed to keep all data from surveys confidential.
We may share information with third parties
We may share information as described in this Notice or as otherwise described at the time such information is collected from you. Information shared by us includes:
Security
We use reasonable security measures to protect the confidentiality of personal information under our control and appropriately limit access to it. We use a variety of information security measures to protect your online transactions with us. Our Site uses encryption technology, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), to protect your personal information during data transport. SSL protects information you submit via our Site, such as information including your name address and credit card number to pay medical bills.
MetroHealth cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. We take reasonable steps to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of personally identifiable information that you may provide. However, electronic transmissions via the Internet are not necessarily secure from interception, and so we cannot absolutely guarantee the security or confidentiality of such transmissions.
Protecting children’s privacy
We are committed to protecting children's privacy on the Internet, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Your choices
By contacting us using the information below, you may:
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Since every browser is a little different, look at your browser’s Help Menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies. If you turn cookies off, some of the features that make your site experience more efficient may not function properly.
Data retention
We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
Links to other websites
Our Site link to other websites, many of which have their own privacy policies. Be sure to review the privacy policy on the site you're visiting.
Privacy policy updates
We may need to update our privacy policy as technology changes and MetroHealth evolves. If we make significant changes to the privacy policy, we'll post a prominent message on our Site.
Contact information
If you have a question or concern regarding your privacy, please contact MetroHealth’s Privacy Officer using the contact information below:
MetroHealth Privacy Officer
2500 MetroHealth Drive
Cleveland, OH 44109
Phone: 216-778-1601
Email: HIPAAPrivacy@metrohealth.org